This is a really interesting Kickstarter project – build your own electronics with modular components. Something like Modulo might have kept Radio Shack in business.
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Category Archives: Gadgets
Apple II Watch
Oneplus One
Not really sure why you’d buy a Nexus 6 with this thing on the market. The reviews look pretty good – better battery life than Nexus, 64GB for $349… camera kinda sucks, but still… $349 – compared to $649 for the Nexus 6. That’s a no-brainer. I also personally really like Cyanogenmod – I use the latest version on my rooted Kindle Fire HD 7. Once they got the auto-update thing working, it’s just as good as stock Android IMO. If anyone has OnePlus One invites to share, let me know! It looks like I just missed the open sale.
UPDATE: Android Central is doing a giveaway – enter to win.
Ostrich Pillow Mini
So happy to see the Studio Banana guys releasing an awesome new product. You might remember the Ostrich Pillow; they have come up with a personal-sized power-nap pillow called the Ostrich Pillow Mini. Go and support them at their kickstarter here! (Full disclosure: I helped them facilitate the kickstarter and totally love these guys.)
Ostrich Pillow Mini
Vision for all
Inventor’s 2020 vision: to help 1bn of the world’s poorest see better:
Silver has devised a pair of glasses which rely on the principle that the fatter a lens the more powerful it becomes. Inside the device’s tough plastic lenses are two clear circular sacs filled with fluid, each of which is connected to a small syringe attached to either arm of the spectacles.
The wearer adjusts a dial on the syringe to add or reduce amount of fluid in the membrane, thus changing the power of the lens. When the wearer is happy with the strength of each lens the membrane is sealed by twisting a small screw, and the syringes removed. The principle is so simple, the team has discovered, that with very little guidance people are perfectly capable of creating glasses to their own prescription.
Such an amazing idea. With self-adjustable glasses cheap enough, and with the right distribution networks, sight could be restored to massive numbers of poor people in the world.
MacBook/MacBook Pro Battery Life Tips
So I’ve finally bitten the Apple, and I got myself a Macbook Pro. I wouldn’t say I’ve “switched,” because I plan on installing Windows XP with Bootcamp soon. One of the reasons I hated my previous laptop was its truly terrible battery life, even when it was new. I didn’t realize that batteries suffer what is commonly referred to as a “memory effect” (in reality, voltage depression), that can essentially be overcome by allowing the battery to discharge and cycle. With a Macbook Pro, use the following instructions:
- Fully charge your MacBook/MacBook Pro.
- Once fully charged, leave it plugged in for at least another 2 hours.
- Remove the MagSafe power adapter, and use your computer until you get the battery level warning message.
- Ignore that message and keep working.
- Eventually the machine will go to sleep.
- Do NOT plug it in. Instead, let it sleep for at least 5 hours.
- After the time has passed, plug it back in, and let it fully charge.
- Once fully charged, your battery has been properly calibrated.
High temperatures can also decrease a battery’s life span, so keep your laptop well-ventilated during use, and don’t put it in any ovens, ever.
Holga+Polaroid
It’s pricey, but it’s cool:Simply a perfect couple: The breathtaking charm of the legendary Holga, encouraging you to dive into experimental photographic effects and the amazing advantages and features of the Polaroid instant Photography including the Image Transfer Technique when using the 88 or 669 Film. With this set you have all the options, deciding whether you take medium format pictures, 35mm Shots or simply load your Holga with overwhelming Polaroid material.
They also have just the back, if you have your own Holga 120.
For the alcoholic on the go!
What’s weird about The WineRack isn’t that it exists as a product, but that it is marketed as an alcoholic beverage container, rather than, say, a convenient CamelBak replacement that would hold water. I don’t know a whole lot of active ladies that really need that swig of wine when they’re running around in a sports bra.
OK, well I know a few.
Control Netflix (and other things) with your remote
I watch a lot of downloaded and streaming content. Often I copy files to the PS3 in the living room, and playback control is no problem. But if I’m watching on my computer, if I want to pause or rewind, it means I have to physically get up and go to the computer to do so. No more! I’m setting this up today:
You can control Netflix Watch Now playback with your remote. All you need is a remote control, a infrared receiver like the USBUIRT and a program like girder. I’ll show you how I’m doing this and share with you my girder gml file which you can download as well.
Easily dock old hard drives
This is pretty cool. I only wish they made one for older, non-SATA drives.
Blendor 